Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28262486›Full record

ArticleCurrent biology : CB2017

Lateral Gene Transfer in the Adaptation of the Anaerobic Parasite Blastocystis to the Gut.

Laura Eme, Eleni Gentekaki, Bruce Curtis, John M Archibald, Andrew J Roger

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Current biology : CB, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 57 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
57citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
11.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

57 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 117 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. The genome of Pleurosigma provides insights into the evolutionary adaptations of pelagic diatoms.DNA research : an international journal for rapid publication of reports on genes and genomes · 2026
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  15. Comparative Transcriptomics ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2023
    Article
  16. Epidemiology ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023
    Review
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Transposable elements drive intron gain in diverse eukaryotes.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022
    Article
  20. The Genome of the Mitochondrion-Related Organelle inInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2022
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Laura EmeCentre for Comparative Genomics and Evolutionary Bioinformatics, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, 5850 College Street, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada.
Eleni GentekakiSchool of Science and Human Gut Microbiome for Health Research Unit, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand.
Bruce CurtisCentre for Comparative Genomics and Evolutionary Bioinformatics, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, 5850 College Street, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada.
John M ArchibaldCentre for Comparative Genomics and Evolutionary Bioinformatics, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, 5850 College Street, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada; Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Program in Integrated Microbial Biodiversity, 180 Dundas Street W., Toronto, ON M5G 1Z8, Canada.
Andrew J RogerCentre for Comparative Genomics and Evolutionary Bioinformatics, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, 5850 College Street, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada; Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Program in Integrated Microbial Biodiversity, 180 Dundas Street W., Toronto, ON M5G 1Z8, Canada. Electronic address: andrew.roger@dal.ca.
Canadian Institute for Advanced Research · CADalhousie University · CAMae Fah Luang University · TH

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Blastocystis spp. are the most prevalent eukaryotic microbes found in the intestinal tract of humans. Here we present an in-depth investigation of lateral gene transfer (LGT) in the genome of Blastocystis sp. subtype 1. Using rigorous phylogeny-based methods and strict validation criteria, we show that ∼2.5% of the genes of this organism were recently acquired by LGT. We identify LGTs both from prokaryote and eukaryote donors. Several transfers occurred specifically in ancestors of a subset of Blastocystis subtypes, demonstrating that LGT is an ongoing process. Functional predictions reveal that these genes are involved in diverse metabolic pathways, many of which appear related to adaptation of Blastocystis to the gut environment. Specifically, we identify genes involved in carbohydrate scavenging and metabolism, anaerobic amino acid and nitrogen metabolism, oxygen-stress resistance, and pH homeostasis. A number of the transferred genes encoded secreted proteins that are potentially involved in infection, escaping host defense, or most likely affect the prokaryotic microbiome and the inflammation state of the gut. We also show that Blastocystis subtypes differ in the nature and copy number of LGTs that could relate to variation in their prevalence and virulence. Finally, we identified bacterial-derived genes encoding NH

Indexed as

Gene Transfer, HorizontalMicrobiotaAcclimatizationBlastocystisBlastocystis InfectionsEvolution, MolecularHumansIntestinal DiseasesIntestinesadaptationanaerobiosisBlastocystisCrohn’s diseaseimmune evasionlateral gene transferNAD synthaseparasitepathogenicityprotist

Identifiers

PMID28262486
OpenAlexW2593635259

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.